Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Andor season 2, episode 3.There’s no doubt thatAnakin Skywalker/Darth Vaderhas become perhaps the most recognizable character of all time, but thisStar Warsvillain is far from a hero, something evenGeorge Lucashimself has attested to. As a villain who’s been around for nearly 50 years now, having been established in one of the most iconic movies ever made, Vader is now a pure cultural icon. The admiration for his character, however, has seemed to forget his villainous identity over time.
This has become prevalent recently with the response from some fans following thethree-episode premiere ofAndorseason 2. In response to a scene in which an Imperial officer attempts to sexually assault Bix Caleen, various fans insisted that Vader would never have stood for acts of sexual assault by their officers, and that the scene has no place inStar Warsstorytelling because of this. This, however, is a gross misunderstanding of Vader’s character, as noted by George Lucas himself.
George Lucas Understood That Anakin Could Never Truly Be Redeemed
Vader Was So Evil That Even His Most Heroic Act Couldn’t Redeem Him
InThe Making of Revenge of the Sith, as shared byKelly Knoxon Twitter/X, Lucas discusses the moment inReturn of the Jediwhen Vader chooses to save his son, Luke Skywalker, by killing Emperor Palpatine. Lucas is very clear not to call this a moment of redemption; instead,Lucas insists that “Anakin can’t be redeemed for all the pain and suffering he’s caused.“He goes on to specify that Anakin/Vader “doesn’t right the wrongs, but he stops the horror.”
According to Lucas,Vader doesn’t even do this in an attempt to save the entire galaxy. Anakin’s one concern in this moment is his son, and the compassion he has for Luke. He’s not concerned with trying to make everything he did wrong better; that’s not something he’s even thinking about. It would have been impossible for him to do so, anyway. Vader had a reputation for being one of the most brutal people in the galaxy for a reason.
To even say that Vader was redeemed inReturn of the Jediis not the truth. As Lucas says, Anakin still completed theChosen One prophecyof bringing balance to the Force, butthat does not forgive everything he did to cause such pain and suffering as Vader. This even extends to Anakin’s life before he became Vader, when he killed “not just the men, but the women, and the children too” at the Tusken camp on Tatooine.
Darth Vader Was Never Meant To Be Heralded As A Hero, Even After ROTJ
He Put His Heroism Far Behind Him In ROTS
There is certainly a difference between heralding a character as an icon and treating them like a hero, though over the years, someStar Warsfans have been blurring that line for Vader. The point of showing us Anakin’s backstory with theStar Warsprequel trilogy wasn’t to make us sympathetic towards Vader;it was to warn us of how even the most honorable and revered heroes can fall so far and become more evil than we could ever imagine.
At no point is Darth Vader a hero.Anakin Skywalker may have been a hero, especially during the Clone Wars, but Vader never earns that title, not even after he kills Palpatine inReturn of the Jedi. Vader himself is aware of this when he tells Luke, “It is too late for me, son.” Any hope of true redemption vanished the moment Vader pledged himself to Palpatine and immediately marched on the Jedi Temple duringOrder 66, where he slaughtered everyone - including children.
As Beloved As Vader Is As A Character, We Cannot Forget He’s A Villain
We Were Never Supposed To Root For Him
This isn’t to say that Vader cannot receive his proper admiration as a fictional character. Villains have been at the center of audiences' appreciation for years. It cannot, however, be forgotten that Vader is a villain, not a hero.Star Warsdoesn’t attempt to portray him in this heroic light, either; we may cheer when Vader tears through a hallway of Rebel soldiers inRogue One: A Star Wars Story, but the brutality of such an act is still not lost on us.
Star Wars has never wanted us to root for Vader, just as it has never wanted us to root for Palpatine.
Star Warshas never wanted us to root for Vader, just as it has never wanted us to root for Palpatine. Vader has committed countless horrifying atrocities himself, which means he more than likely could not care less what some random Imperial officer was doing to a woman on some Outer Rim world. No matter whoAnakin Skywalker/Darth Vaderwas before he fell to the dark side, he was not a hero after falling into darkness, and Lucas himself is the one who insisted upon it.
